Description

An excellent route, combining quality rock, interesting moves and good views of the Suspension Bridge - without doubt a classic climb! The third pitch is the highlight, with exposure right off the belay and smooth climbing to the top-out. Make sure you wave at the tourists in the Giant's Cave and the Suspension Bridge - climbers can attract quite an audience at busy times!

P1: Scramble up from the base of the buttress until you get to steeper ground and a good belay ledge. This is where you start. Stick right at the start, and climb up to a prominent right-facing corner. Protect the crack in the corner then move back left - if you climb up in the corner itself you end up in a spiky bush. Gear anchor on a good ledge below a steep bulge, with a view of the tourist outlook to your left.

P2: Make some tricky moves up and right off the anchor, to gain the bulge and much easier climbing. The rest of the pitch is quite scrambly (watch out for loose rock). Another gear anchor just below a steep wall with a fixed piton.

P3: Clip the piton and make some very exposed moves left around an arete. A tricky move on slopey holds gains a good ledge, and fun climbing on good rock to the top-out. Belay on either a fence post or the substantial bush nearby.

Location

Start by scrambling quite a way up the toe of the buttress until the ground steepens and you find a spacious belay. There are plenty of good nut placements here if you want to anchor here.

Protection

Typical for the Gorge, protects well with nuts. Small cams (up to 0.5 camalot) could be put to good use. There is a fixed piton right off the belay on P3, and one bolt if you go far enough to the left.